This invention relates to an apparatus for forming, filling and closing bags. The apparatus has a hollow mandrel of rectangular cross section on which a thin, weldable or sealable sheet is formed. The sheet is advanced to the mandrel by a folding device. In consecutive operational cycles, bags are formed from the hose by providing transverse seams thereon; the bags are filled by a dispensing device and subsequently, the filled bag is separated from the hose by severing it through a transverse seam. For providing the transverse seams, there are arranged two rhythmically upward and downward as well as inward and outward moving, heatable transverse shoes.
A known apparatus of the above-identified type (to be discussed in more detail later) has the disadvantage that the hose is, directly by means of the transverse shoes which hold the hose firmly, pulled downwardly so that the bag, instead of a flat bottom, has a downwardly tapering, wedgelike configuration. Consequently, the bag has to be relatively tall in order to avoid soiling of its walls by the goods in the zone of the subsequently provided transverse seam. The bag can thus be filled only to a small extent, resulting in a waste of the packaging sheet. Furthermore, the bags are aesthetically objectionable.